It's been said that the Damariscotta River is the Napa Valley of oysters. Under excellent natural conditions, local farms use it to grow some of the best shellfish in Maine. To celebrate, oyster enthusiasts gathered at Mine Oyster in Boothbay Harbor over the last weekend in September for the 21st Pemaquid Oyster Festival. 

“I am very, very, very happy to host this event,” said Ralph Smith, the venue owner. “It is a prestigious event. And if you celebrate the Damariscotta River and the oyster, (which is) pretty much what we do here at Mine Oyster, it's a great thing.” 

Around 1,000 people showed up Sept. 29 to enjoy oysters from nine local growers who operate on the Damariscotta River. They set up raw bars throughout the newly renovated venue that also hosted five local bands playing music from country to maritime songs to New Orleans jazz.   

According to organizers, the festival is the primary fundraiser for the Edward A. Myers Marine Conservation Fund, and Smith said growers sell their product at a heavily discounted price to support the cause. Organizers said the festival has raised over $200,000 over its lifetime to give to local nonprofits.  

“They're doing a huge benefit to the area to benefit the cause for this oyster festival, the Myers Foundation. It's great. They do a great job. And everybody here is donating their time, including my staff.” 

Apart from fresh oysters, the highlight was an oyster shucking contest. Shuckers had to serve 12 perfect oysters to three expert judges that valued quality over speed. By the end of the three heats, Andy Rogers won by shucking his handpicked dozen in 54 seconds. In fact, he did it in 51 seconds but had a three-second penalty for a cut in the meat.

Rogers, an owner of Jolie Rogers raw bar in Wiscasset, said he fell in love with shucking in college and now regularly competes. In 2021, he won the 2021 Wellfleet OysterFest Shuck Off on Cape Cod, and he placed fourth overall at the U.S. National Oyster Shucking Championship Contest in Maryland last year. This year, he and an engineer friend even made a custom knife from scratch, molded to his hand and style, to up his game. 

While he has his eyes on nationals and beyond, Rogers said the local oyster festival is a great chance to be part of something local. “I love any time the community comes together. During the season, we're also busy working hard. I know I work all the time. So, it's a treat to have everybody in one spot and just spend good quality time.” 

Apart from community, the Damariscotta River provides a unique opportunity, according to Rogers and other growers. Like wine, unique growing conditions lead to unique flavors. In wine, the flavor profile associated with the environment is called terroir. For oysters, it’s merroir. 

“You jump over to the Sheepscot and it's a completely different flavor, or anywhere you know just from river to river,” Rogers said. “There's just so much variation in where and how you grow an oyster and you know what effect that has on the flavor, the shell, morphology, like everything.” 

However, according to Smokey McKeen, an owner of Pemaquid Oyster Company and one of the founders of the festival, “the greatest oysters in the world come from the Damariscotta River.” 

He said the 12-mile stretch from the bridge in Damariscotta to the ocean brings in ocean water at full tide twice a day. Upstream, the Great Salt Bay headwater warms up, which results in algae blooms that feed the oysters. Overall, growers say the river provides an abundance of nutrients and the right mix of fresh and salt water, free of upstream pollutants, that results in robust oyster production. 

“There's something magical about the Damariscotta River,” McKeen said.